Colin Kaepernick: What’s his Montana Factor?

On Monday I wrote about the Montana Factor. It’s designed to look at a quarterback’s intangibles, and no one was better in that category than Joe Montana, who exhibited flashes of the leadership, toughness and clutch play that defined his Hall of Fame career when he attended Notre Dame, despite posting otherwise pedestrian college statistics. Consequently with the quarterbacks in this year’s draft, I attempted to look at the Montana Factor, which is an assessment of a quarterbacks comeback ability and his play in big games.

I wrote Monday that Auburn’s Cam Newton showed significant Montana Factor by bringing his team back four times from double-digit deficits, including his remarkable performance in the last second win over Alabama. Many of you objected to comparing Montana in any fashion to the controversial Newton.

Nevertheless, another quarterback that’s drawn 49ers interest is Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick who also scores highly on the Montana Factor. Not only did Kaepernick generate four fourth-quarter comebacks in his career, he did so this year against the Wolfpack’s fiercest rivals: Boise State and Fresno State. In upsetting Boise State, Kaepernick capped the game-tying drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left.

Against Fresno State, Kaepernick led a game-winning, seven-play, 44-yard drive. During the march, he completed a pair of crucial third-downs. The Fresno State game always meant a lot to Kaepernick because he grew up in nearby Turlock.

The Montana Factor is something to bear in mind when assessing this draft class.